Species-specific responses during Seoul orthohantavirus infection in human and rat lung microvascular endothelial cells

Seoul orthohantavirus (SEOV) is a rat-borne zoonotic virus that is transmitted via inhalation of aerosolized infectious excreta, and can cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in humans worldwide. In rats, SEOV predominantly exists as a persistent infection in the absence of overt clinical signs. Lack of disease in rats is attributed to downregulation of pro-inflammatory and upregulation of regulatory host responses. As lung microvascular endothelial cells (LMECs) represent a primary target of infection in both human and rats, infections in these cells provide a unique opportunity to study the central role of LMECs in the dichotomy between pathogenicity in both species. In this study, host responses to SEOV infection in primary human and rat LMECs were directly compared on a transcriptional level. As infection of rat LMECs was more efficient than human LMECs, the majority of anti-viral defense responses were observed earlier in rat LMECs. Most prominently, SEOV-induced processes in both species included responses to cytokine stimulus, negative regulation of innate immune responses, responses to type I and II interferons, regulation of pattern recognition receptor signaling and MHC-I signaling. However, over time, in the rat LMECs, responses shifted from an anti-viral state towards a more immunotolerant state displayed by a PD-L1, B2M-, JAK2-focused interaction network aiding in negative regulation of cytotoxic CD8-positive T cell activation. This suggests a novel mechanism by which species-specific orthohantavirus-induced endothelium and T cell crosstalk may play a crucial role in the development of acute disease in humans and persistence in rodents. Seoul orthohantavirus is a rat-borne zoonotic virus that can cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in humans worldwide while it generally leads to persistent infection in absence of clinical signs in the natural reservoir host, the Norway rat. It is believed that persistent infection in reservoir hosts is due to downregulation of pro-inflammatory immune responses and upregulation of regulatory responses, while in humans excessive immune responses contribute to disease. Endothelial cells in the lungs are of particular interest as they represent a primary target during Seoul orthohantavirus infection in both species. So far, it remains incompletely understood how the responses of these cells to Seoul orthohantavirus contribute to the development of disease in humans and the prevention of such in rats. In this study, we compared the host responses of human and rat lung endothelial cells to Seoul orthohantavirus infection and found that anti-viral responses from both species are comparable, but differ in timing. Additionally, we identified a novel protein interaction network during later phases of acute infection in rat cells, which may play a crucial role in the development of disease in humans and persistence in rodents.